'Great time to be a UConn fan'

Daniel Tepfer

Updated 12:14 am, Tuesday, April 8, 2014

UCONN grad Eric Cheong of West Haven cheers a Huskies basket as he watches NCAA Men's Basketball Championship at The Tilted Kilt restaurant on Old Gate Lane in Milford, Conn. on Monday, April 6, 2014.
Photo: Brian A. Pounds

UCONN grad Eric Cheong of West Haven cheers a Huskies basket as he...

UCONN fans cheer on the Huskies as they watch the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship at The Tilted Kilt restaurant on Old Gate Lane in Milford, Conn. on Monday, April 6, 2014.
Photo: Brian A. Pounds

UCONN fans cheer on the Huskies as they watch the NCAA Men's...

UCONN fans Tom Latham and Becky Garofano, both of Milford, cheers on the Huskies as they watch the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship at The Tilted Kilt restaurant on Old Gate Lane in Milford, Conn. on Monday, April 6, 2014.
Photo: Brian A. Pounds

UCONN fans Tom Latham and Becky Garofano, both of Milford, cheers...

UCONN fans Brandon Oldham, left, of Orange, and Ryan Keller, of Hamden, watch the Huskies in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship at The Tilted Kilt restaurant on Old Gate Lane in Milford, Conn. on Monday, April 6, 2014.
Photo: Brian A. Pounds

UCONN fans Brandon Oldham, left, of Orange, and Ryan Keller, of...

University of Connecticut basketball fans cheer for their team at the 1st and 10 Sports Bar & Grill in New Milford, Conn. where patrons watched the mens national championship game against Kentucky Monday night, April 7, 2014.
Photo: Carol Kaliff

University of Connecticut basketball fans cheer for their team at...

UCONN basketball fans lament a bad play while watching the mens basketball team play in the national championships Monday night, April 7, 2014 at the1st and 10 Sports Bar & Grill in New Milford, Conn. From left are Tim Bishop, 22, of Danbury, Alex Halleron, 18, of Brookfield and Joe Halloran, 50, of Brookfield.
Photo: Carol Kaliff

UCONN basketball fans lament a bad play while watching the mens...

Heang Taing, 31, of Danbury, and Frank Turchiano, 42, of New Milford cheer for UCONN at the 1st and 10 Sports Bar & Grill in New Milford, Conn, Monday, April 7, 2014. UCONN men played against Kentucky for the national basketball college championship.
Photo: Carol Kaliff

Beer was flowing along with enthusiasm of the fans, with no Kentucky bourbon in sight. Conversation in the bar was limited to cheers as UConn went ahead and boos when the Wildcats scored.

As the Huskies surged to an early lead, fans were glued to the wall-to-wall-to-ceiling TV screens, ignoring the waitresses gyrating in the aisles with each new score.

Tom Latham, of Milford, made a very bold prediction as the game began.

"It's going to be a blowout," he proclaimed to cheers, "78 to 54."

But Kevin Lord, of Milford, chose to be on the safe side. "I want UConn to win, but I'm not predicting anything right now," he said, knocking his fist on the wooden table.

But his buddy gave away his secret: "He bet big on UConn," he said.

Lucky for him, the Huskies were victorious, 60-54.

Many fans said they can identify with the adversity the team has gone through to get to this tournament. Last year, UConn was ruled ineligible for the tournament because of low academic scores of its players.

This year, the Huskies were ranked 18th in the Associated Press poll at the start of the season, while Kentucky was ranked No. 1.

"UConn has a history of fighting against the low odds," said Dan Barbiero, of Trumbull. "And I think it's that faith that attracts its fans. They work hard to get every point; their coach (Kevin Ollie) is not satisfied with what the team had done under Coach Calhoun. He wants to make his own history."

Dan Lebov, of Hamden, said he has been a UConn fan since he was a child.

"And I've stayed with the team through it all," he said.

As UConn continued to pull away from Kentucky in the first half, the intensity of the cheers grew. With each score, there were shouts of "UConn!" from one side of the crowded bar, answered by "Huskies!" from the other side.

"UConn's doing a great job," said Al Demers, of Milford, a fan since 1978. "The possibility of them winning another national championship and the women doing it too -- it's just a great time to be a UConn fan."